On Saturday, Brother Rice sophomore James Bennett watched his brother Tommy, a senior, win an individual state championship and get a hero’s welcome back at school.
Three days later, it was the younger brother’s time to be the hero — and make history.
With the Crusaders trying to make it to team state for the first time, it all came down to the final match, with James Bennett bumped up a weight to 132 pounds.
“Going into that match, I was very scared,” he said. “I was very nervous. I was wrestling a stronger kid and I felt some pressure, but it also felt exciting.
“As soon as I had him, I knew it was over.”
Bennett pinned Oak Forest’s Joe Loranger in 1 minute, 21 seconds Tuesday night to seal a 34-30 win for the host Crusaders in the Class 2A Brother Rice Dual Team Sectional.
James Bennett, who celebrated with a back flip, was carried on the shoulders of several members of the Brother Rice student section.
What a week for the Bennett family.
“It’s been exciting in the house the last few days,” James said. “It’s crazy. We used to watch videos of people winning state, and then seeing Tommy do it was crazy.
“The atmosphere in the school has been crazy. Now, we’re going to state as a team.”
The Crusaders will take on Glenwood Chatham at 7 p.m. Friday in a state quarterfinal at Grossinger Motors Arena in Bloomington.
Brother Rice coach Jan Murzyn employed an intriguing strategy going into the final two matches, with his team leading 28-24 but with momentum on the Bengals’ side after they rallied from a 28-9 deficit.
Instead of putting James Bennett at his typical spot of 126 against Oak Forest’s top wrestler — Caden Muselman, who finished third at state — the Crusaders essentially sacrificed that match and saved James Bennett for the last one.
“We had guys that didn’t stop,” Murzyn said. “We were disappointed in a couple matches we thought we were going to get. But that’s what wrestling is about — you never say die.”
Murzyn has seen James Bennett mature mentally as well as improve physically to become a state qualifier and someone capable of winning such a big match.
“It took a lot of perseverance, a lot of tears, a lot of emotional outbursts, a lot of, ‘I’m never going to get this right,'” Murzyn said. “You just keep going, you stay with it, you coach him, and lo and behold, he gets in that situation and he’s ready for it.
“Along the way, yeah, we hit our heads off the wall. He was mad at us. He had emotional outbursts and so did we. That’s part of the sport. He got there.”
Tommy Bennett (170) and Pat Galeher (heavyweight), meanwhile, had pins for Brother Rice. Al Perez (138), Nathan Chirillo (160), Colin Ashley (182), Gabe Perez (195) and James Hogan (220) also were victorious.
Connor Nowicki (145), James Mair (106) and Muselman (126) managed pins for the Bengals. Hanan Abdallah (113) won by forfeit, while Ivan Corral (152) and Tyler Evitts (120) added victories.
Hogan, a senior, delivered an especially key win for the Crusaders, beating Adam Richter 5-3. Hogan was pinned by Richter in their last meeting at the individual sectional.
“I wanted the revenge,” Hogan said. “That guy knocked me out, basically, last time. I had to turn it around for team. This time, I just stuck with my way of wrestling and it worked out for me.
“It’s awesome to finally make it to state for the first time in school history.”
Steve Millar is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
